Method for the continuous distillation of coal and other hydrocarbonaceous materials and for the autogenous hydrogenation of the condensable volatiles

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR THE CONTINUOUS TREATMENT OF COAL BY THERMAL MEANS FOR THE RECOVERY OF VALUES THEREFROM COMPRISING; INTRODUCING COAL TO AND FEEDING THE COAL VERTICALLY DOWNWARD WITHIN A CONTINUOUS PRESSURIZED RETORT HAVING A PLURALITY OF GAS SEPARATED ZONES AND FEEDER SHELF UNITS VERTICALLY SPACED THEREIN, SEPARATING THE ZONES FROM ONE ANOTHER BY CARRYING ENOUGH MATERIALS ONSELECTED ONES OF SAID FEEDER SHELF UNITS TO PREVENT GASES FROM READILY FLOWING THERETHROUGH, DRYING AND PERHEATING THE COAL AS IT IS FED VERTICALLY DOWNWARD IN THE FIRST OF SAID ZONES BY HEAT EXCHANGE WITH HOT GASES FLOWING CONCURRENTLY THEREWITH, DISTILLING PRIMARY VOLATILE MATTER FROM THE PREHEATED AND DRIED COAL IN THE NEXT LOWER OF SAID ZONES WHILE UTILIZING HYDROGEN AT SUBSTANTIAL PRESSURE AS A THERMAL CARRIER GAS PASSING COUNTERCURRENTLY THERETHROUGH, FEEDING THE COAL FURTHER DOWNWARD INTO THE NEXT ZONE AND OXIDIZING THE PARTIALLY VOLATILIZED CHAR IN A COMBUSTION AND GAS PRODUCER ZONE BY THE INTRODUCTION OF PRIMARY AIR, PASSING THE PRODUCTS OF COMBUSTION AROUND THE DISTILLATION ZONE AND UTILIZING THEM FOR DRYING AND PREHEATING THE COAL IN THE AFORESAID CONCURRENT FLOW DRYING AND PREHEATING ZONE, FEEDING THE PARTIALLY OXIDIZED HOT CHAR FROM THE COMBUSTION ZONE DOWNWARDLY TO A HEAT TRANSFER AND METHANE CRACKING ZONE, INTRODUCING HYDROGEN AND METHANE TO THE HOT CHAR TO FLOW COUNTERCURRENTLY THROUGH THE HOT CHAR IN SAID HEAT TRANSFER AND METHANE CRACKING ZONE FOR TRANSFERRING THE HEAT TO THE HYDROGEN FROM THE HOT CHAR AND FOR CRACKING THE METHANE INTO CARBON AND HYDROGEN IN THE PRESENCE OF HOT CHAR, THEN BYPASSING THE HIGH TEMPERATURE HYDROGEN AROUND THE COMBUSTION AND GAS PRODUCER ZONE INTO THE DISTILLATION ZONE TO BE USED AS THE THERMAL CARRIER FLUID,AND SELECTIVELY MAKING SYNTHESIS GAS BY PASSING OXYGEN AND STEAM THROUGH THE CHAR FED DOWNWARDLY FROM THE HEAT TRANSFER AND METHANE CRACKING ZONE INTO A TOTAL GASIFICATION ZONE.